Karma
by SeverNSkull
Summary: Team Konohamaru are ambushed by an Outer member of Kara who has possession of an Edo Tensei Obito. He breaks from their control and joins the team. But things get even worse as the trio of genin and the undead begin to jump to their own conclusions about Kama, Kara, and a nefarious plot, dragging them right in the middle of it while threatening the entire world.
1. What's In the Box?

The moment the cloaked man stood still before them, the team was ready to continue their fight. He seemed confident that he had already won as he began to chuckle dark, but they'd been able to fend him off so far. The team was ready to keep at it too! However, they didn't expect what happened next. The man used a summoning jutsu and immediately, an enormous, light-colored wood coffin arose from the ground to tower over them.

"Quiver in fear as I unleash _the weapon_ upon you!" the deranged man shouted before he began to laugh even more maniacally as the coffin opened to reveal a man with skin cracked in a way that made it seem like darkness was seeping through. He was taller than the deranged Kara member and wore a vibrant purple mantle, black gloves, and black pants. His hair was a striking, inky black and his face was riddled in deep scars on the right. Plain white stirrups kept his black sandals in place and he looked peacefully asleep, but Team Konohamaru knew better. That was a dead man; _a corpse._ But the fact that their opponent had summoned the man's body was more than ominous.

A moment later, the coffin sank back into the ground and the corpse was left standing unassisted while the Kara member revealed a strange kunai, made a series of seals and slid it into the dead man's back. The resulting shudder that passed through the man startled them and chills passed down their spines. This man wasn't an ordinary corpse, but this technique was something they had never seen before.

"Are you awake yet?" the Kara member snapped. "Kill them! Kill them and take the blonde! I haven't got all day!"

The corpse lifted its head up and blinked, two-toned black eyes being replaced by a set of Sharingan surrounded by black. He seemed bleary and confused as he turned to look to his left and right. "Rin? Kakashi?" he murmured. One of those the genin recognized as Lord Sixth's name, but the Sharingan were unnerving as there were supposedly only two people in the world left who bore that dojutsu. "Where am I?"

"Stop blundering and attack them!" the Kara member shouted, pointing at Team Konohamaru, the three genin getting tenser by the second, ready to hold their ground.

The corpse seemed confused still until he looked across the field at the three genin, eyeing them with an unreadable expression in his eyes before turning to his handler. "Why should I?"

"Because I summoned you! I put you back together and now you'll do as I say or you can go back to the earth where you came from!" he spat at the corpse, seething and fuming with rage.

A horrible, angry chakra began to flare from the corpse, cowing the man and making him shrink back as the corpse turned his entire body to look at the man move fully. "What if I don't want to?" the corpse challenged, his dusky-lilac chakra beginning to surround him as he took a step closer, attempting to take shape around him.

The Kara member who had been so cocky mere moments ago was frozen in fear. "Y-You have to! You're no longer among the living so you have to do as I say!" he snapped shakily, trying to sound confident. But the undead Uchiha didn't seem inspired to listen in the slightest, especially given the way his chakra flared up further. So the Kara member began letting his hands fly through a series of handseals. But before he could blink, his hands were missing, the bloody stumps spraying all over himself and the ground as he screamed mercilessly in both terror and pain.

"Please! Please don't kill me! I was only taking orders from Lord Jigen!" the man pleaded frantically, falling to his knees and holding his crippled wrists against him.

"It's funny that you were so quick to give me orders when you're taking them yourself," the corpse said in an eerie, toneless demeanor as he stood over the whimpering man, the blazing chakra dying down as he no longer had a use for it. "But you should know, that I take orders from no one. Not anymore. So let me put you out of your misery." He raised his right hand and extended it towards the man. His expression may have been blank but the meaning in his words and actions were as clear as day.

"No! No! Please! I didn't mean to make you mad! I'm sor-" his words were cut off as a spear of wood shot through his skull and the man dropped bonelessly to the ground - dead - for the earth to soak in his blood.

The corpse made a 'tsk' of disgust and stepped back to avoid the blood-spray that was still slowly spurting from the man's wrists. He then turned to face the three genin who could hardly believe what they had just seen. They wouldn't be able to face him head-on and although they had no idea what his abilities were, they were certain he was not someone to trifle with; dead or not. But strangely, the corpse didn't seem too concerned with them as he began to examine his own person, removing his gloves to look at his mismatched hands, muttering something too low to catch under his breath.

"Boruto, what do we do?" Sarada asked the blond who was just as terrified as her. The shock had finally registered and each of their tiny hearts were hammering in their chests. Even the calm, cool Mitsuki.

"We'll have to make a tactical retreat," the blond answered, swallowing thickly.

"What?" she squeaked quietly, whipping her head towards her teammate.

"Do either of you have any better ideas?" Neither of them did of course, so the three of them ran, tearing through the woods as fast as they could with their low chakra. They hated having to chance something like this, but the fight with that Kara member had taken a lot out of them. "Mitsuki, is he following us?"

The blue-haired snake sage used his sensor abilities to feel around for the corpse. "I can't detect him anywhere," he answered, baffled, and the three of them stopped.

"He's gone?" Sarada asked, just as confused. "Did he go back to the summoning realm after killing his master?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, so the boy put on a determined expression and tried to reach out with his senses once more. Nothing. "I still can't detect him anywhere. It's almost as though he-"

"Vanished into another dimension?" came the dark voice of the corpsely Uchiha from a high branch above them, his Sharingan giving off an intimidating glow as he peered down on them from the canopy. Team Konohamaru took fighting stances once more as the man easily hopped down to a closer branch only a few meters away, watching them with what looked like amusement.

"Who are you?" Boruto snarled, ready to attack if it came down to it. Then after a brief pause, " _What_ are you?"

The corpse looked thoughtful for a moment before ignoring his questions altogether to ask his own. "What do you know of Kakashi Hatake?"

"Why don't you answer our questions first?" Boruto inquired, his blue eyes blazing as he focused on the strange being. He clutched his kunai tighter, his stance tight and measured.

The corpse flitted its eyes between the three of them before chuckling almost mirthfully, like one would when recalling a fond memory. "Do you really think you should be the ones asking questions if you aren't holding any of the right cards?" he asked before turning his attention to track the source of a sound behind him. "Hm?"

Two shadow clones each with their own whirl of chakra at their palms ran towards him at full speed. " ** _Rasengan!_** " the pair shouted as they touched down on the branch the corpse stood upon. The balls of roiling, fierce wind-chakra pressed against the corpse, but both the attack and the clones went harmlessly through him, hitting each other instead to create a large explosion. Immediately, Team Konohamaru took advantage of the corpse's distraction to escape.

"What was that? Your Rasengan went right through him and he didn't even move," Sarada commented as they ran as fast as they could through the trees, looking for a place to hide. Boruto didn't answer. He was still trying to consider himself why his attack didn't connect, or rather how the corpse was unaffected entirely by it.

"Maybe it's his Sharingan?" Mitsuki suggested offhandedly.

"What do you mean?" the young Uchiha asked curiously, listening carefully to her teammate.

"You told us about fighting Shin Uchiha and his ability to control weapons. Maybe this person has the ability to let things pass through him?"

"That doesn't explain how he managed to disappear completely like that," Boruto pointed out, mulling over the snake's suggestion.

Mitsuki frowned as he thought before making another inference, "It could be one of his abilities. Maybe certain Sharingan allow for multiple abilities or it's just a part of the main dojutsu?"

"Alright. I'll keep my Sharingan active just in case he tries to sneak up on us again," Sarada declared, her crimson orbs spinning to life. "If it's a jutsu, I should be able to see him coming!"

Boruto and Mitsuki nodded. With this they couldn't lose!

But things didn't go according to plan.

"Watch out!" Sarada shouted as she saw a whirl of chakra in front of them, but it was far too fast for them to avoid it in time. The corpse rose up from the branch, flowing through it like water and grinning mockingly as the three genin tried to divert their path. " _Boo!_ " he shrieked and began to laugh ravingly as the children passed through his incorporeal body with shouts of both surprise and fear.

The children managed to pass harmlessly, turning back to see the corpse grinning at them as he faded into the distance. It infuriated the young Uzumaki and he scowled deeply as the man got further away. "What the hell? He's messing with us!" Boruto snarled angrily.

"And he's too fast for my Sharingan! I didn't think anything could evade my dojutsu!" Sarada exclaimed, all three of the genin now even more aptly spooked. This guy seemed to be playing a game and with how quick and powerful he seemed to be, he could have killed them already. It wasn't a thought they wanted to relish or dwell on, but the sport was growing tiring and wasn't much fun at all. "Boruto, what do we do?"

"We don't have a choice. If he's that fast, he'll either kill us when he's bored with us or he's just going to follow us until we're exhausted until so he can kill us without any trouble that way. We're practically sitting ducks either way," Boruto explained, before gritting his teeth. "And we'll have to stop sooner or later."

"So what's the plan?" Mitsuki asked his brow furrowing.

"We find a place to take our stand," the blond advised before a thought occurred to him. "He was summoned, right? Maybe we can seal him."

"What if he passes through the seals? He'll kill us for sure," the kunoichi commented her eyes darting through the trees to catch sight of the creeping corpse.

"We'll just have to try and find an opening. If he can't activate his jutsu, he can't do anything about it," the young Uzumaki pointed out. It was worth a shot. Hell, anything was worth a shot if it meant avoiding certain death.

The genin managed to find a grove hidden among the trees and leapt down before they quickly wrapped a few wires around the tree trunks surrounding them. The three of them were now caged in a tight space with a predator prowling just beyond, wanting to seek them out for whatever nefarious means he held. But they had a plan and they were going to execute it, hopefully before the corpse executed _them._ The unflappable, Uchiha kunoichi looked back and forth among the trees while the cool, serpentine boy used his sensor abilities to try and pick up the corpse's position.

"I think he's onto us," Mitsuki murmured, as he twisted his head toward the direction they last saw the man. "He's sitting just outside of range. I think he can sense us too." He turned to his teammates who both seem worried by this new information. But if he was a sensor, why didn't he detect the shadow clones Boruto had thrown at him beforehand? It didn't make much sense, but before they could dwell on it anymore, Mitsuki jolted. "He just vanished again," he announced before readying himself for the incoming attack.

"On it!" Sarada began looking around the wires to see where the corpse had gone to, but she couldn't see anything indicative of the man's reappearance.

"There! Above us!" Mitsuki cried, whipping his head up towards the disturbance, but before the three of them could react, they were surrounded by a whirling inferno that scorched away the wires surrounding them. The three genin only barely managed to protect their faces from the heat with their arms in time, but strangely the fire hadn't touched any of them. They hastily assessed themselves and then their teammates before looking up to see the corpse standing upside down on a tree branch, watching them with a smug smile, his mantle tucked down against in a defiance of gravity; a testament to his advanced chakra control.

"Hey! What's the big idea? Why don't you get down here and fight us already?" Boruto shouted at him, hoping to lure him in and spring their trap.

The Uchiha eyed them and released a small huff of amusement. "And risk setting off that more than obvious trap you set for me? I'll pass." How did he know?

"Who are you?" the blond demanded, more than irritated with the undead Uchiha's games.

"I'm but a benevolent ghost of the Uchiha," he answered with the utmost confidence, his arms splayed out as he shrugged before allowing them to settle at his sides. "Who are you?"

Boruto put his lips together in a tight line as he glared up at the man, his distaste plain on his scrunched up face.

Sarada decided to try her luck, her curiosity playing a role. "You're an Uchiha? What's your name?"

The undead looked upon her with a glint of amusement gleaming in his sharp, garnet eyes before replying, "I'll answer your questions only if you answer mine."

"And what if we don't?" Mitsuki asked.

The Uchiha turned their attention to the snake sage. "Then we can play this game of ours - like a cat to mice - until I get my answers or until you all faint of chakra exhaustion. If that happens, I'll get my answers out of you whether you like it or not, but I can be patient." The three of them didn't care much for that answer and the dubious context, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. They were days away from Konoha and no one would notice them here in the wilderness of Earth country if they were to pass out here. They'd simply die.

"Alright," Sarada answered, stepping forward to her team's defense, "we'll answer your questions." That earned a wide grin from the Uchiha and an amused, throaty chuckle. "My name is Sarada Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf Village and these are my teammates Mitsuki and Boruto Uzumaki. We're Team Konohamaru."

"Uzumaki? Uchiha?" the corpse Uchiha hummed thoughtfully before dropping from his post and maneuvering in midair to land on his feet atop a closer branch to peer down at the genin more easily. "Ah. I assume you're Naruto's and you're Sasuke's then?" he asked pointing to the children respectively before turning his gaze to Mitsuki. "And you? I'm not sure about you, but you strike me as Orochimaru's. Am I right?"

"I'm a synthetic human created by Orochimaru, but yes. He is my father," Mitsuki answered flatly earning a nod from the corpse.

"Ah hah... I knew it." He tapped his chin for a moment and then stood up once more from his crouch. "Since you've all introduced yourselves I guess there's no other choice," he made a show of shrugging his shoulders once more, his hands splayed up to add to the gesture before giving his own introduction, "Yes. I am an Uchiha and my name is Obito. It's a pleasure to meet the newest generation of Konoha genin meant to die in service of their village."

"What do you mean by that?" Boruto asked, his brows furrowed in frustration as he tried to assess their opponent.

Obito waggled a finger while 'tutting' at them like a disappointed parent, "I just answered your questions so I would think it's my turn now." Boruto pressed his lips together, biting the inside as he waited quietly for the next question. "So my next question is: what do you children know of Kakashi Hatake?"

"He's-" Sarada started before being cut-off by the blond.

"He's a well-respected, _important_ shinobi to the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" Boruto answered vaguely, making Obito raise a brow at the boy's actions, the undead's set smile revealing nothing of his thoughts. "Now what the hell did you mean by that?"

"Interesting," Obito murmured, watching them even more closely with his thumb and forefinger now nestled against his chin, rubbing thoughtfully against his scarred lower lip. He was strangely emotive for a dead man. "Young genin are so naive," he began. "You don't realize that the same village you respect and live for would easily send you all - children that is - to your deaths for the sake of old men with money and power. But I suppose I'll let you hold onto your naivety for now. But grasp it tightly as you can, because this life will rip it from you mercilessly the first chance it gets."

"But the village has changed," Sarada input. "Children aren't permitted to be promoted past chuunin until they reach-"

"Is that right?" Obito chirped mockingly, effectively silencing her and any response the other two might make. "You know how they say that 'people change?'," the corpse asked, making air quotations to stress the phrase, "Well, villages _don't change._ They are unyielding in their ways."

The Uchiha leapt down to stand directly in front of the girl, barely half a meter away. "Tell me, child," he asked in a much darker undertone, "have you ever wondered what happened to the rest of your clan? To the rest of the Uchiha? Or maybe why the war happened in the first place? Or maybe you've wondered what that look is in your father's eyes when he looks at you? _That_ is all the doing of the village. _This_ village. Not some outward, no-regard place like Wave or Sound. No. It's the Leaf. And if you three are here, with no Sensei to guide you and with an S-Rank _monster,_ like me before you, who was told to rip you apart, then nothing - _nothing_ \- has changed."

He turned his back on her and walked over to a conveniently placed moss-covered boulder, carefully dodging all the hidden seals planted around the grove to take a seat on top of it before murmuring softly, " _It never will._ "

"Then maybe you could tell us what happened?" Sarada coaxed softly, although certain she didn't want to hear the answers he was able to bestow upon them.

"Are you really so eager to lose your youthful ignorance of this world?" Obito chuckled mirthlessly before laying across the boulder and crossing his legs with a deep sigh. He seemed oddly comfortable for a corpse. "No. You may be old enough to kill a man, but I doubt you're old enough to fully comprehend just why your village - actually why _all_ of the villages are bad," he said with nothing more than indifference.

"We're young. Not dumb!" Boruto barked in response. "Just tell us, old man!"

" _Old man?_ " Obito murmured, testing the phrase out on his own tongue and letting out a resulting huff. "Has anyone told you that you're a lot like your father? I think he takes after your grandmother though?" He seemed to mull that over in deep thought before adding more surely, "Yeah, he does. She was nice."

"I am _not_ like my father! And how did you know my grandmother?" Boruto asked, his amusement peaked even though his temper ran hot towards the apathetic Uchiha.

"So many questions…" he grumbled with faint annoyance. "But then again, of course I did. Everyone knew the Red Hot-blooded Habanero. Hah! Didn't wanna get on that woman's bad side," the corpse mused while recalling his memories, letting his raised ankle lull back and forth. "She was the most fierce woman you could possibly meet; too bad she died." The movement stopped for several seconds at that but continued up again almost immediately.

"Just ask your question already!" Boruto huffed. He didn't know what he was expecting the corpse to say, but he felt that he deserved the ridicule he was getting for his trouble.

"Alright," Obito said in a toneless morose than the one he carried only seconds before, then he began humming thoughtfully before voicing his own query. "Are you... missing-nin?"

"No," Sarada answered. "We were simply here to bring home our teammate."

"Who became a missing-nin?" he prodded further.

Sarada hesitated and Mitsuki looked away so Boruto answered. "No. They were never a missing-nin. They just needed to find their own path!" he sent a reassuring grin to his teammates which made the snake sage look to him gratefully and return him a small smile and a nod, the former of which Boruto did in turn.

"Interesting..." the corpse mused, not missing the exchange with his eerie Sharingan eyes.

"So..." Sarada took a moment to compose herself in preparation to ask her own questions. She might as well while the opportunity presented itself; it isn't like her mother or father were going to give a straight answer and Obito was technically family, in a way. The kunoichi proceeded to push her glasses back up on the bridge of her nose and asked, "What do you know about the Uchiha clan?"

"Practically everything there is to know, but are you sure that _you_ want to know?"

The kunoichi looked back to gauge the reactions of her team and seeing them both nod gravely, she set her gaze back on the corpse before giving her answer, "Yes. I want to know everything I can."

"Alright. Where to start... where to start… Ah, I know where," the corpse murmured to himself before coming to a conclusion. "A handful of years before our deaths, your uncle and I killed them. All of them except for your father, of course. Itachi was i _nsistent_ upon that."

The three genin didn't react at first, making no sound to indicate the terror and shock that spread among their faces so Obito lifted his head up and peered from around his legs. "What now? Did I say something wrong?"

"You and my uncle killed the clan? Why?" Sarada asked, swallowing hard. She didn't know anything about her uncle - not even his name - despite him being part of her namesake. Why would her parents name her after a murderer? In fact, why bother naming her after him at all? It made no sense.

"Yup," Obito answered lazily, popping the 'p'.

"Why?" she repeated. She had too many 'whys' in-mind to ask just one and it made her dizzy as her mind strained to go through each and every one, assessing any possibility she could.

Once again, the corpse didn't miss this and smirked at her, nodding in approval. "Now you're asking the real questions," Obito commented. "Do you want the official version or the truth?"

"The-" Sarada couldn't answer. Whenever she had asked her mother about her uncle - about Itachi, she only had nice things to say about him. Not much, but only nice things. The kunoichi was aware that the corpse could be lying, but she knew her mother had been keeping something from her by the look on her face whenever she asked about their clan. She decided then that she'd listen and decide the truth for herself, but she couldn't open her mouth to speak. It hurt too much.

"The truth," Boruto replied coolly in her stead, giving her a moment's rest from the undead's constant stream of banter and inhumane remarks.

Obito took a deep breath, tired breath as though he had already grown tired of telling the tale. "Many many years ago," the Uchiha began, "there was a man named Madara Uchiha who was highly respected for his fighting prowess and abilities among his clan and he had a rivalry with the man who would become the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. And after years - now centuries - of battle both Madara and Hashirama declared a truce and created the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Is there a point to this? Every genin knows the story of the Founding Fathers," Boruto muttered to prompt the Uchiha to hurry it along, or at least make a better narrative.

"I wouldn't be telling you if there wasn't," Obito grumbled. "So _anyway_ , before I was so rudely interrupted," he continued pointedly, "they became friends, made a village, and ran it together, but the village council didn't like Madara. He was very powerful and so was his clan - our clan. They didn't trust the Uchiha, so Madara tried to convince them to leave, but no one would listen or pay him any mind. Feeling the brunt of his peoples' and the village's betrayal, Madara defected until eventually he fought Hashirama to the ' _bitter death_ ,' being brought to an end by his closest friend and rival." He seemed rather bitter himself when he said 'bitter death', but the genin didn't care to read into it as the corpse began rushing through the next part.

"So years pass, Hashirama dies in a war and Tobirama makes Hokage. But Tobirama was one of the people who hated the Uchiha so he decided to make them officers of the peace, only making citizens weary of them. Tobirama dies in battle and Hiruzen took over with his peers leading the council, including this one person named Danzo. None of them really trusted the Uchiha either, but Hiruzen was willing to give them a chance, until the Kyuubi attack. That was so long ago..." Obito trailed off as if recalling the event.

Boruto cleared his throat.

"Please just continue," Sarada muttered softly, listening intently to the story.

"RIght. Right... The Kyuubi attacked the village and when it was over, the Uchiha were condemned to a tiny corner of the village and began being discriminated against by the entirety of the village," Obito explained.

"Uchiha-san?" the girl called upon him like a curious student.

"Hm?"

"What did the Uchiha have to do with that?" The Kyuubi attack was a natural disaster," the young kunoichi said. "No one could have prevented that or stopped it, right?"

The corpse chuckled, shaking his head before taking a glimpse around his folded legs. "Have they really covered this up that well?" he asked, directing the question more at himself than at the children. It was a rhetorical question, but he still meant to give them the answer. He settled back into his spot as he had been before and gave his answer. "It's been proven fact that only one clan has been able to tame the Kyuubi outside of a jinchuuriki's vessel, and that's the Uchiha. The village council were aware of this because they were old enough to remember the last battle between Madara and Hashirama before the Kyuubi was sealed away in Mito Uzumaki."

"Why would the village hide something like that?" the young Uchiha asked again.

"My dear, as I already mentioned, you don't know the village like I do. I may have died a criminal and a missing-nin, but only because I was able to open my eyes enough to see the truth," the undead explained vaguely. "But let's continue our story. It'll give you some more insight on that… hopefully."

"Naturally, the clan didn't like that so they planned a coup d'etat to overthrow the council and the rest of the village's leadership," he continued. "Now then, your uncle, Itachi was a double-agent spying from his post in ANBU on the clan, but also on the council for the clan. So he reported it to Hiruzen and the council." The genin could likely guess what happened next, but they stayed quiet as the corpse continued to explain.

"The Third didn't want things to end up in violence as Itachi had advised that it might, so he made attempts to reason with the clan, but the would have none of that and wanted to end the problem before it began." Obito adjusted uncomfortably at that and the three genin all looked troubled as well. "The main one who sought to have them all exterminated was a man named 'Danzo' - who we killed eventually, of course - but when Hiruzen didn't manage to change the foolish clan elders' minds in time, Danzo ordered Itachi to kill them all. But... he couldn't do it on his own. I think such a thing would have destroyed him, so he sought me out and..." Obito hesitated, going silent as his brow furrowed and his lulling foot stilled. The trio managed to catch a glimpse of his face and he looked angry with himself. "And... we killed them. I killed the all of the officers before murdering the women and children in their beds or as they attempted to flee and beg for their lives and Itachi took out the rest, or at least, all of the shinobi."

His admission chilled the genin to the bone. He was indeed a monster having done such a thing, but then again, how could the village? But overall how could her uncle Itachi, who had been spoken of so highly have done such a thing whether the village demanded it or not? It made Sarada's heart ache.

"Oh, you think that's bad?" Obito seethed with another of his derisive huffs. "That's not even the worst that the village has to offer. No, far from it in fact. But guess what? Remember how I mentioned Madara? He planned and orchestrated all of it as his revenge on the village and the clan; you, me, Itachi, your father, and everyone else who had to suffer, - including your family, Uzumaki," he added with a nod to the blond, "were simply collateral. But that man though... Madara, was one of the most vile things to walk this earth. Hell, so was I for being his student, but I could pity Itachi. He, at least, was redeemable and had never done anything wrong. I barely knew the man, but I could certainly tell you that unlike me. Itachi did it to save your father from Danzo's wrath and for the good of the world and the future he believed in. But me? I did it because I truly wanted to be a hero. Some hero I was, huh? But, at least I died a good death, even if I am back here in the forsaken place. But that's why I started a war; to try and grasp a future I believed in. Got to aim for the stars, right?"

"You started a war?" Mitsuki asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Heh... yeah," Obito answered bashfully. "It seemed like a pretty good idea at the time."

"Over the massacre or over the village?" Sarada inquired further.

"Both, but there was more to it than that." Obito sat up and sat with his legs crossed with his hands tucked together as he hunched over his shins. "When I was your age, I _met_ Madara Uchiha and he convinced me that I could fix everything - our corrupt government, the shinobi system, war, and the need for death and chaos - by becoming a _god._ It didn't take immediately, but he had something taken from that was more important than anything else." He sighed deeply and looked down at his clasped hands.

"That's so lame! And it's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. No one can become a god," Boruto scoffed derisively at the very suggestion.

"Ah, but if you can if you can contain the Juubi or obtain the power of the Otsutsuki clan for yourself, " Obito lifted his head and looked at him knowingly. "Your chakra, it feels _different..._ kind of like the goddess Kaguya herself, but... not." His vermillion eyes fell on the young Uzumaki who hid his right arm behind his back. "So maybe it's not so much dumb as it is misunderstood?"

Sarada and Mitsuki diverted their gaze to their teammate as well. Was he talking about Kama? Boruto unthinkingly slid his right hand behind his back in an attempt to conceal it from the Uchiha.

"But that's why I did it," the corpse carried on. "To fix the things that were broken and to save my friends; Rin, Kakashi, Kushina, Minato-sensei..." the Uchiha trailed off sadly once more, his eyes falling on his hands for several moments before he took a breath and continued once more. "To harness the power of a god means that you can hold the power in your hands to change the world on a larger scale than by playing political games. You could remake the Earth in your image or bring back the long deceased in the most perfect of dreams, but it didn't work the way I planned. But, someday, soon I suspect, something like that's going to happen again, especially if that chakra of yours and my resurrection are anything to go by."

"So what are you going to do now that you're here? Are you going to try and become a god again?" Mitsuki asked, affected far less by the conversation than the other two, at least enough to continue using logic and wits.

Obito shook his head. "No. Nothing like that. Edo Tensei - which is what I am back as - should dispel when I tie up my loose ends."

"Loose ends?" Sarada asked, her expression souring further if possible.

"Yeah. I have a few of them," the Uchiha remarked as he scooted off the rock and stood up to stretch, with a loud, shuddering yawn. "Kill the council and see Kakashi again. I couldn't care less about the rest of this because it's not my problem."

"What? You can't just kill the council, even if they did order the clan killed!" Sarada exclaimed in a poor attempt to appeal to him. "Just think about it for a minute, Uchiha-san."

"My dear, they've done a hell of a lot more than that. If they're alive, they must die and I intend to deliver them to death's door," Obito answered in an attempt to placate her while he tiptoed around the hidden seals and quietly passed the genin before he stopped for a moment in thought. "Also Kabuto," he mused, "I should kill him too." Then he continued back into the woods on foot.

"We won't let you kill Lord Sixth though! He's a good leader and far better than the likes of you!" Boruto shouted after him, cupping his hands around his mouth.

The Uchiha stopped and Obito began to chuckle. In a few moments, it turned into a full-bodied laugh. He was shaking so hard with the force of it that he had to prop himself up against a tree and hold his gut while he laughed.

"What? What's so funny?" Boruto cried, outraged and confused.

"Kill Lord Sixth? Kill Kakashi? " he was still chuckling and had to wipe away tears from his eyes. "Oh! That's the furthest thing on my mind!" He was still huffing with amusement as he straightened himself and turned to the trio, just outside of the sealed area. "I simply want to see him and talk to him so I can head back to the afterlife. I had a good thing going there. But not so much here. Need to get back up there and see Rin before the idiot dies or something and gets time with her to himself!"

The genin watched his retreating back as he continued on his heading into the woods. They weren't quite sure what to do. Obito was apparently a resurrected war criminal and a mass murderer. It'd be best to leave him be, but still, he wanted to go and kill people, and as well, Kara wanted to use him _for something._ And if the term 'the weapon' was anything to go by, doubly so. He couldn't be allowed to do whatever he pleased like that.

"Hey, are you kids coming or what? I'm not trudging through the woods for my own health," Obito called back, tripping over a root gracelessly before huffing at them in annoyance. "Or my own _not-health?_ I don't really know anymore," he muttered quietly, to himself rather than the trio as he looked down at his feet despite it being fully audible.

"Should we follow him?" Mitsuki asked his companions as he curiously watched the seemingly clumsy Uchiha continue on his path.

"We'll have to. We can't let him start killing people," Sarada stated, imploring the blond to come up with a plan of some kind.

"But we also can't let him start trying to kill _us_ if Kara shows up to take him back," Boruto commented. The boy placed his hands laxly behind his head and skewed his lips in thought.

"So what do we do?" Mitsuki asked instead.

Boruto shrugged and began to follow the Uchiha's path through the woods, leading the others. "Well, if he was able to fight their control over him before, he could do it again. And if they do show up, I'd rather have him on our side to throw at them first!" That was a flawless point, so Team Konohamaru followed after the undead Uchiha, setting their course for home.


	2. Stop Trying To Piss Me Off

The sun had long since set and the trio of Team Konohamaru began to find themselves tripping in the darkness over roots and bramble in their path. They were exhausted - dead tired even, but the undead Uchiha leading them was still going strong. Remarkably, he hadn't fallen for any of their traps up to this point and it only wore them out more. He was undefeatable.

The young Uzumaki was determined to walk until he passed out to prevent the creature from betraying them, but his attention was drawn to his teammates as his blue-haired companion's stomach growled. He seemed utterly embarrassed by it but continued on.

"It's okay, Mitsuki," Sarada whispered, "I'm pretty hungry too."

Boruto groaned in rolled his eyes. He'd just gotten used to looking out for his team, but now things were getting complicated again. Stopping left them vulnerable not only to enemies, like Kara or hunter-nin but also to Obito himself and he didn't want to give the Uchiha any ground. It didn't seem up to him as he looked back and saw just how tired the other two were and it reflected how exhausted he was on the inside. They could stop for a bit, he supposed, but he'd have to keep an eye of the Uchiha. So he decided to cease his pace, the other two genin falling in beside him.

"Hey! We need to rest for the night," Boruto called to him, pulling the corpse's eyes to him which looked pitch black in the lack of light. It made him cringe and shudder to have that gaze focused on him, but the Uchiha gracefully made his way back over, covering the distance easily.

"Is that right?" Obito asked in a condescending tone, running his gaze over them.

Sarada sighed either in relief or disappointment and looked between the two of them as the blue-eyed genin glared at the man. "Sorry, Uchiha-san," she pointed out, bringing them back to Boruto's declaration, "but we're not like you. We need food and rest, so let's find a place to relax for a while and we'll assign someone to keep watch," the kunoichi explained, throwing out the suggestion more kindly than her teammate.

The corpse tapped his chin thoughtfully before nodding. "Alright. I'll take the watch then," he chirped in reply, a grin plastered across his cracked face.

Boruto gapped in disbelief. The Uchiha seemed to prefer the kunoichi over him in everything and it irritated him, especially since he was so dangerous. Maybe he was a huge perv too? That'd be even worse.

The blond huffed angrily and crossed his arms over his chest while his teammates began to set up camp, "Why'd you agree with her and not with me?"

"Hm? I didn't _disagree_ with you, but you have to admit that you were being rather rude," the Uchiha answered with a half-hearted shrug. "And I don't care for being bossed around, even if it's by children. I spent enough time with that, so I'll give you some free advice."

"Advice?" Boruto echoed, outraged.

"Yes. When negotiating with people stronger than you, manners can prove to be very important. So learn them," the Uchiha offered without malice and making the blond scowl at him more furiously.

"I don't need to take lessons from a terrorist," the blond snarled, winding up and sending a small, disappearing Rasengan Obito's way, but the Uchiha was already accustomed to his attacks, letting the invisible orb pass right through him. It smashed powerfully into a tree a ways behind the corpse, making him chuckle in amusement.

"Well, if not from me, you'll either learn them one day or perish," the Uchiha pointed out with a humorless chuckle. "A shinobi's life is like that."

"You don't scare me," the blond huffed with a sneer.

"Maybe I don't, but this lifestyle should scare you. Exactly how many shinobi before my time do you know that survived to old age?" he asked in order to intimidate the boy. He didn't answer the Uchiha, only scoffed and went about unpacking his things. "Not that many then?"

"Shut up!" the young Uzumaki hissed, setting down his sleeping bag atop the rustling leaves. "There'd probably be more if you didn't kill so many people!"

The corner of the corpse's lips twitched but his expression was unreadable aside from the set smile he wore around the trio. "You're probably right," Obito agreed.

Sarada happened to glance over after hearing the insult being thrown at the undead Uchiha and she doesn't miss the look on Obito's face when he agrees with her teammate. It gives her a strange feeling in her gut, not quite concerned or fearful, but apprehensive and maybe a touch sympathetic for her corpsely kin. However, this guy, he killed a lot of people - possibly thousands of people - and guilt isn't something she believes a mass-murderer would typically feel, so what was that look he just gave? It bothers her, so she decides to make an attempt at distracting him and splitting the two apart lest the man feels they're no longer needed.

"Uchiha-san," she called, quickly pulling his attention and seemingly-sightless gaze on her, "would you mind gathering some firewood for us to boil the water for the rations, please?"

The corpse took a deep breath before he finally nodded with a tight, unpleasant smile. "Of course," he responded, his voice strained. He left the clearing with leaves crunching underfoot as he disappears into the woods.

The kunoichi turned her gaze to Boruto who flopped onto his sleeping bag and scoffed with his arms crossed. She didn't want to be angry with him, but he was playing with fire unlike any they've come across before. Obito was a precariously guarded inferno and every time the blond egged him on or slung an insult or attack his way, he was dragging the three of them closer to it. Soon enough, they'd all end up getting burned.

"Boruto," she scolded with a deep-set frown, "you shouldn't antagonize him like that. You're going to get us into a lot of trouble."

"Why not? Sarada," he defended tilting his body to glance her direction and fix her with his gaze, "he's a bad guy! And not just that, but he's just admitted to killing your entire clan, starting a war, and who knows what else! I would think you'd take my side on this."

"I know," she affirmed softly before reverting back to her normal tone, "and that's exactly why we shouldn't piss this guy off. Dead or not, he can kill us by as little as blinking so knock it off. At least right now, he's being helpful and the last thing we need is for him to turn on us."

"Fine," the young Uzumaki huffed, rolling his eyes before sitting up once more. "But I'm going to keep watch first and so I can keep an eye on him."

"That'd work," the young Uchiha nodded. "I'll take second and Mitsuki will take third so one of us is always on the lookout."

Mitsuki nods in approval, but Boruto just stayed laying on his bag, annoyed at the corpse and for being called out on his antics. He was simply trying to protect them! Why did things have to be so complicated when he finally chose to care about them?

Unfortunately, the undead Uchiha chooses that moment to show up with his arms full of small logs and kindling. Sarada gave him an appreciative nod as he set them down in a careful stack. "Thank you, Uchiha-san."

"My pleasure," he replied politely with one of the set smiles he keeps handy. He points at the space the genin set aside for making a fire, a small pit dug into the dirt surrounded by palm-sized stones. "Are you two going to need help with that?" he asked, watching her work.

"No thanks. Mitsuki and I can handle it," she answered as her and the snake sage set up the fire and made an attempt to light it.

He sat down a few feet away and observing their movements closely, curiously. "Have any of you gone on outings before? Or missions outside the village?"

"Not really," Sarada responded, trying hard to light the flame as Mitsuki is ready with more sticks. She took a moment to look at Obito and explain further, "Boruto has, I think. But he hasn't had to cook outdoors before. Luckily, it's just rations though so it should be fine." The kunoichi turned her attention back to the stash of matches and tried to light the fire again, setting off the kindling in a smokey blaze until it fizzled out just like before. The fire however continued in its refusal to light, as everything was still somewhat damp from the night before.

"That's just sad." Obito commented loudly, drawing their attention to him and the prominent frown he wore, "What are they even _teaching_ you kids in the academy these days?" Boruto had to hold his tongue and simply scowled at the Uchiha, Sarada looked displeased with a tinge of annoyance in her eyes, and Mitsuki tilted his head in curiosity. "Here. Let me show you," The corpse rose from his spot and took a seat between the two genin, crouching down before rearranging the kindling and sticks. "The tent-like shape I made will help it stay lit when you light it. It'll protect the flame from being put out and also helps because the fire," he gestures by moving his index finger from pointing at the kindling to the outer sticks and logs, "will burn upwards."

"Ah."

"That will help make things faster," Mitsuki commented.

Sarada sent Obito a genuine smile before frowning once more, "Thanks, Uchiha-san, but it's still not lighting."

"There's an E-Rank fire-starting jutsu I learned in the academy that I can show you. It'll even light a fire in the rain," the corpse instructed and put his hands together to show them. "First you make the seals for-"

"Will you stop being so nice to us?!" Boruto cried out, sitting up with his fists clenched as he finally grew unable to stand by and watch idly. "I know you're not here for your own amusement, so what do you want from us? Huh? Answer me!"

Obito stood unthinkingly, all signs of helpfulness and happiness melting away. The genin's hearts start racing as the corpse slowly turns to face the feisty blond. "Is that how it is? I suppose I could answer you," he said in a low, dark voice walking across the clearing to stand in the middle, the genin a few feet away on each side. Even Boruto was starting to feel at a certain risk of his own safety with the gesture and the posture the Uchiha took. "And maybe you'll answer me as well."

The undead's presence was intimidating and he towered over all of the genin. His chakra flared around him enraged. "I've had enough of these games, children so I expect to be given an answer," his voice was a rumble like the snarl of a grand beast in warning before it lashed out. "Why would someone send an S-Rank criminal like me, who has been peacefully dead for however many years to capture a single, blond-haired boy?"

But Boruto kept tight-lipped and refused to answer.

"I know you're aware of the answer to my question. It was evident the moment I lay these eyes upon you," he said, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan to glare at him more powerfully. "Even more so at the mention of the powerful Otsutsuki clan. So you're going to tell me why I'm here on this miserable earth or I'll show you the true power that I wield." He seemed to be getting impossibly more upset and when Boruto scooted back on his sleeping bag, the corpse chuckled humorlessly and asked, "Alright, then tell me, boy. How much do you know about the power of the Sharingan?"

"You don't scare me," the blond spat, looking up into his vermillion gaze defiantly.

"Oh, I should. I really should, because these eyes, are the eyes of a killer and to take the life of a petulant child would mean nothing to me," the corpse hissed.

"Uchiha-san, please. We'll tell you what you know if you just calm down," Sarada tried to reason with him, putting her hands in front of her like one would coax an animal. Her and Mitsuki had shot up the moment the undead Uchiha began to rage.

"Calm? _Calm?_ " he asked, looking to the kunoichi, fixing her with his gaze and narrowing his eyes. "I should remain calm?" He began sauntering over to the other two genin, forcing them to back up, but Sarada tripped over the pile of logs the corpse had brought and landed on her bottom beside the fire pit, unable to move away. "I've been _ripped_ from the afterlife, thrown into an undying body, and now I'm being tormented by a single genin with an attitude problem who seems to be the cause of all this," he roared, his eyes maddened and his entire being raging, "and I haven't gotten a single answer as to why! So don't you _dare_ tell me to remain calm!"

He had made his way to stand right over her so Mitsuki acted quickly. The blue-haired genin used a snake-hand jutsu to catch the Uchiha off-guard, throwing a handful of kunai his direction while he grabbed at his ankles from below the ground. Meanwhile, Boruto ran at him from the opposite side with a shadow clone flanking him on each side. They rushed at him with a Rasengan handy and a sealing tag up their sleeve, but Obito was too quick for the latter.

The corpse whipped his arm out and forced one of the Uzumaki's clones to slam into it before being thrown into a tree, the trajectory of his jutsu being thrown off as it flew into the woods as it dissipated. Obito quickly twisted to send a railing kick into another as its hand scrambled to land the Rasengan into him or touch him with the seal it carried, but its hand went through as it vanished like its twin. The Uchiha let out a snarl as it sent an upward punch into the blond's jaw, sending the boy flying into the air.

The snake sage took the opportunity to launch a jutsu at the Uchiha in an attempt to get him away from his teammates. " ** _Wind Release: Breakthrough!_** "

A gust of wind swept up and blew through the campsite, scattering their belongings. Although the Uchiha's mantle and hair flapped around him in the breeze, he stayed resolutely put and leaped to the side to rip Sarada up off the ground, into his arms. His powerful left arm was wrapped tightly against her throat while his other hand gripped a handful of her raven-black locks, his eyes a deadly calm. "Stop what you're doing or I'll kill her," the corpse hissed as the girl struggled and fought to free herself to no avail.

Mitsuki stilled and adopted a calculating look on his face as though to plan something, while Boruto was watching from a branch nearby, gritting his teeth at the man. Obito's eyes flit between the two of them and his lips twitched in annoyance. "Don't think I can't tell that you're trying something," he said. "Did you forget how easily I can end your lives or hers? All I have to do is set my sight on her and she'll be decapitated, not that I couldn't just crush her like this."

"Uchiha-san, please… you don't have to do this," the kunoichi pleaded, still struggling to get away. As hard as she tried, she couldn't form any chakra to use a substitution jutsu. It was as though she had been sealed and looking down at her shirt, she noticed one of Boruto's seals attached to her clothes. Obito had outsmarted them again.

"Let her go, you bastard! She didn't do anything to you!" Boruto snarled at him, dropping down to the ground and stumbling as he landed before wiping a streak of blood from his split lip.

"I know she didn't. None of you have, but I want answers and if this is the only way to get them, I'll do what I have to," the corpse answered, tightening his hold on the kunoichi. "So you're going to tell me everything you three know starting _right_ now, because I'd really hate to kill any of you."

Sarada took a moment to steady herself while the enraged, undead terrorist stood over her menacingly, his very presence threatening and it sent chills right down to her very core. It was almost as if the souls of her ancestors were reaching out to her and telling her to 'run' and run as fast as she could from the man who was more creature than human with his immense power. She looked up to meet his eyes, hoping to appeal to whatever sliver of humanity he had shown them in the past few hours and began to reveal what she knew. "We've been pursued and followed by a group called Kara ever since a few weeks following the chuunin exams," she answered, her voice brave and unwavering despite the fear that churned her stomach.

"What's significant about the exam?"

"During that time the village was attacked by a member of the Otsutsuki clan and Boruto with the help of the Kage defeated them. That's when we began noticing the symbols on Boruto's hand when we're in danger," the kunoichi continued, her voice strained as the corpse continued to press against her throat.

Obito turned his attention to the blond who was barely managing to stay upright. "Show me," he ordered calmly.

"No way," the blond grunted painfully.

"Show me now or I'll kill her," the corpse threatened, eliciting a cry from the girl as he forced her head to the side by yanking her hair. Without further hesitation Boruto complied, blue symbols wrapping around his hand and face. "Interesting. Killing the Otsutsuki that attacked the village did that?"

"Yeah," the young Uzumaki confirmed with an angry sneer.

"There's nothing good about that," the Uchiha mused aloud before turning his attention back to the kunoichi. "What does Kara want with it?"

"That's just it. We don't know, but we met a boy with the same marking who had been running from them. He's currently in the village under Lord Seventh's protection," the girl answered. "That's all we know. I swear."

The corpse sighed and released her, shoving her away as the girl caught herself after stumbling into the blond, coughing as the boy grabbed her. Obito's anger morphed into annoyance as he muttered something that involved the Sixth's name - 'Kakashi' - once more. Then he began to rub his forehead and paced back in forth as he thought hard about something until he whipped back around to glance between the three of them which had managed to huddle into a defensive line centered around the kunoichi. "I have no idea what the hell is going on with Kara or those symbols, but it sounds to me like I'm stuck here on this miserable earth until this all gets sorted out. And as much as I dislike you, I'm going to deliver you to the Hokage personally until we can get that _thing_ ," he spat, gesturing at Boruto or more specifically his arm, "removed. So from here on out, stop trying to piss me off or get rid of me or I'll rip your arm off myself. It wouldn't be too difficult to do."

The three genin were silent as he made his declaration, still terrified by the sight of his dark-side that had come out moments before.

Obito crossed his arms and looked at the three sternly. "Is there anyone else that knows about your little fight with the Otsutsuki clan?" he demanded from the trio.

"The entire world," Mitsuki answered without skipping a beat. "We all saw it broadcast on television."

The corpse slapped his palm against his forehead and shook his head lightly. "That's it then. You're screwed. _I'm_ screwed. _This world_ may even be screwed." He glimpsed down at his gloved right hand, his Sharingan eyes deactivated after a moment. "You do realize that I've only been aware of anything in the past oh... maybe ten hours? I have no idea who we're dealing with or where they're coming from. I mean, you do realize that, right?" None of the children answered either out of fear or misunderstanding so he simply began pacing once more, muttering to himself angrily.

"What's the big deal about being seen on television anyway?" Boruto asked with a huff. "It's not like it'll make a big difference to you. You've been dead for how long?"

"Am I speaking a foreign language or do the three of you simply _not_ get it?" Obito asked with a frown, stopping to rant once more. "I don't know if anyone saw you get the mark itself, but I hope you realize you have been 'marked' as a powerful shinobi, the likes of which will make you a target for the rest of your life. So now I'll have even more to worry about if I didn't already have to worry about the three of you being the children of equally powerful shinobi." He scowled and paused for a moment before turning to them and asking, "Where is your sensei anyway? What was his name? _Konohamaru?_ He must be an idiot for letting you brats run off on your own, but it doesn't matter. None of that's going to help me right now!" The corpse continued pacing.

"What should we do now?" Mitsuki asked the other two.

"Just don't say anything until he calms down. My mom does this sometimes," Sarada answered in a whisper.

Obito whipped his head in their direction and shouted more loudly than necessary, "You know I can hear you! Stop talking!" Then he muttered to himself, "This is why you were right to never have kids or became a jounin-sensei, Obito. They're all nothing but troublesome brats and this is obviously your worst fucking _nightmare!_ "

"Did he just say 'f-?" Mitsuki asked before the other two hushed him.

The undead Uchiha paced for a few minutes longer before coming to a stop, his shoulders slumped before he shook his head and turned to them haughtily, looking past them at nothing in particular before setting his eyes on them once more. "Let's just forget about this, alright?" he gave a full-body shrug and let out a deep sigh. "Look. You respect my boundaries... I'll respect yours... and everyone gets to live. At least, until everything comes crashing down around us." He paused and tapped his chin before perking up and adding, "You wanted to build a campfire, right? Yeah. You did, so just use these seals," he instructed once more, letting his hands go through the motions slowly, "and release a katon jutsu and you'll be done in no time. I need to go clear my head now so don't run off. I'll be back eventually." He proceeded to activate his Mangekyo quickly before swirling out of existence.

"Where the hell did he head off to?" the young Uzumaki mused, not noticing the kunoichi glaring at him from the side.

" _You idiot!_ " she cried and punched him in the arm roughly, knocking him back.

"Ow!" he cried.

"You almost got us killed! I told you not to annoy him and you did it anyways! What's it going to take for you to start listening?" she exclaimed, scowling at her teammate.

Mitsuki was watching the altercation with a frown but proceeded to regather their supplies so he could start the fire the way Obito had instructed. It didn't take long before finally enough light brought into the dim area to see by, that wasn't just filtered moonlight.

"Boruto, you should be more careful. We're all in this together, remember?" Sarada reminded him softly, making the blond sigh.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you and I- I don't know. He was too strong to beat and I thought I might be able to protect you guys by taking the risk," the blond said sadly while rubbing the bruise the young Uchiha had made on his arm.

"Boruto, I get it. I really do, but sometimes, you just have to make the most of things and see what happens," the girl said in return. "Hopefully, we won't have another incident like this until we get home." Boruto frowned at that and Mitsuki said nothing, leaving an uneasy silence among the three of them. But thankfully, the rest of the night went by quietly and although the genin kept a watch the entire time, looking out for either rogues or the strange Uchiha they spotted nothing until the very next morning.

* * *

"Hey, rise and shine! Time to get moving!" a voice chirped happily and Boruto felt a nudge against his side. "Come on, kid. I haven't got all day. You're burning daylight." That was the Uchiha.

The boy shot up, a kunai in his hand as he glared up at the man towering over him with a shocked expression. "What are you doing here?" he squawked, moving away from the offending foot that had nudged him.

"I already told you: 'you three are stuck with me'," the corpse answered before flitting his two-toned black eyes between the boy's face and the kunai. "Are you going to use that?" he asked, pointing to the blade and raising an amused brow.

The blond huffed and stashed the blade away before throwing himself back down into the comfort of his sleeping bag, turning his head to gauge where his teammates were. Sarada was sitting in front of the fire, poking at something sizzling beside it, the smell of cooked meat wafting through the air while Mitsuki sat beside her and looked back at him and the undead Uchiha curiously. "You were supposed to wake me when he came back," he grumbled to his teammates across the clearing.

Sarada glanced at him and adjusted her glasses before she flatly replied, "We forgot." It seemed to be a sort of payback for sending the undead on a rage the night before.

"Hurry up and get out of bed. Uchiha-san brought us breakfast," the kunoichi ordered before scraping up some of the meat and divvying it out among three dishes. The food smelled mouthwatering and reminded the blue-eyed genin of when his mother would cook for holiday meals.

He shuffled around the corpse and packed away his things in his backpack before seating himself beside his teammates and poking curiously at the food in the bowl Mitsuki handed him. It wasn't pork, fowl, or beef and he felt rather cautious about it if the corpse had brought it. "What is it?" he asked while taking a tentative bite. Before he got an answer, he took a few more since he was hungry and it was a far (yet delightful) change from the rations that they had been eating.

"Uchiha-san says it's rabbit," Mitsuki answered smiling. "He also showed us how to prepare it."

Boruto looked down at the food in his bowl. "Rabbit, huh?" he muttered, pushing it around with his eating utensil. The thought of having killed an innocent creature like that was just about enough to make him lose his appetite, but the genin was determined not to show weakness in front of the Uchiha, even if it made him sick.

"I figured killing something small and practically defenseless like yourselves would get my mind off of yesterday's activities and lo and behold, it did," the corpse commented while leaning against a tree on the edge of the clearing, not doing anything in particular.

The young Uzumaki took a moment to notice that the corpse had changed his outfit into a thick, black cloak with a hood and a collar that seemed to raise just as high as the mantle he had been wearing the day before. That must have been one of the other things he did while he was gone, but he didn't focus on it. The boy was more focused on the obvious quip that the Uchiha had thrown at him. Defenseless? He'll show him. He had to let his guard down eventually, but for now, he'd play along just as Sarada had asked him to.

"Yeah. Thanks for that," the blond grumbled snarkily back at him.

"No problem," the corpse replied with a dark, mirthless chuckle.

Sarada gave the blond a warning look and Mitsuki just observed as he tucked slowly into his food. "I like this. It's much better than rations," the snake sage commented.

The Uchiha genuinely smiled, making the scars along the right side of his face seem deeper. "I'm glad," he responded, preening at the somewhat of a compliment.

Boruto rolled his cerulean eyes as he chewed around another mouthful of meat. "So," he asked between bites, "where are we headed today?"

Obito's attention fell on him again and he tapped his chin while humming thoughtfully. "Well, we'll make our way to the border of Earth and Grassland, head down towards the Tenchi Bridge to cross into Fire," he answered, sure of himself.

"Why not just use Kannabi Bridge, Uchiha-san? Wouldn't it be faster that way, since its the closest?" the kunoichi asked, making her own suggestion. In light of the conversation, she had taken out a map from her bag to look over their location.

The corpse seemed to pale at the suggestion if possible before he cleared his throat to explain."I merely suggested that path to avoid anyone recognizing my face. Everyone knows the Kannabi Bridge is more heavily traveled than the Tenchi," he explained easily. "And the last thing we need is to cause a mass panic while I'm trying to sneak into a country."

"Why not use your stupid teleport thing? You could reappear on the other side of the border," the young Uzumaki put forth.

"Because if anyone is following us, that'd be a perfect moment to snatch you up or cause confusion for civilians and shinobi at the site," the corpse replied. "But yes. I thought about this, so please, don't belittle my motives."

Sarada's attention was fully on the Uchiha. "But Uchiha-san, the Tenchi Bridge is more heavily trafficked than the Kannabi Bridge because it's closer to a shinobi village," the kunoichi pointed out. "Is there another reason you don't want to use it?"

"Oh. Is it? A lot must have happened in the time I've been dead," he said, musing aloud and avoiding her question.

"You bastard!" Boruto snapped. "Come on! You could just take us back immediately, but instead, you're just keeping us here for no reason! Why are we wasting our time here?"

"Boruto!" Sarada shouted in warning, but the boy just continued.

"Just use the stupid teleport thing to get us back home! Why are you avoiding the quickest path too? What do you want with us?" The blond was snarling and angry when he finished as he glared at the unamused undead.

"Yes, because I really _enjoy_ spending more time with you than I have to," the corpse sneered dryly. "Look kid, I'd have thrown you on the Hokage's lap by now if I could, but unfortunately my ' _stupid teleport thing'_ ," he said while using air quotations, "which is called _Kamui_ by the way - isn't working as it should. I _should_ be able to travel across half the world, but it seems that something happened when I was resurrected or that it wasn't done properly," he answered. Then he took a moment to look at his gloved hands curiously before crossing his arms over his chest and shrugging. "So I would if I could, but for now I'm stuck with only using a short-range Kamui. And as for why I don't want to use… _that bridge_ is because it holds bad memories for me, but fine. Let's take _that one_ if it'll make you stop whining like a petulant child!"

The boy huffed and crossed his own arms as he continued to glare up at the man. "Fine then. What's the range on your Kamui now?" the blond asked with contempt, abandoning the last few bites in his dish.

"About three kilometers in any direction," he replied without missing a beat. "It would take a few leaps to get there by teleportation and I refuse to spare the chakra since I don't have many markers in the area, but we should be on the border in a few hours."

"How're we going to pass by the patrols? They'll have people scouting everywhere after the assassination attempt on the Tsuchikage," Mitsuki asked, tilting his head curiously.

Obito raised an eyebrow at that but didn't see fit to ask. "I marked a drop zone for us to use that should be concealed by any wandering patrols. So once we get to the edge of the border, I can pull us into Kamui and take us all to the other side. Hopefully, that'll at least give us a head start in avoiding any patrols in the area. I can't sense people from inside of Kamui and if we do run into anyone, we'll likely be considered a threat and forced to fight," the corpsed explained, his lips twitching downwards at the mention of conflict.

"You can get us past without killing anyone though, right Uchiha-san?" the kunoichi asked.

"Maybe? Genjutsu-types are more difficult to get past and I'm not really big on using genjutsu myself, even as a Sharingan user. I might be able to put them to sleep though if they get close, but that could affect you three as well. Besides, we're trying to enter without alerting anyone to our presence. I could slip in by myself easily, but slipping in a handful of genin that can barely mask their chakra well enough to slip past a seasoned chuunin? That's asking for trouble."

The young Uzumaki scoffed at him and Mitsuki nodded in understanding. "I see where that would be a problem," the snake sage agreed.

"Whose side are you on?" Boruto grumbled at him.

"Hm?"

"Never mind..."

"Uchiha-san! We could pretend to be tourists. I still have some seals left to cover whatever chakra we can't conceal," Sarada suggested causing the corpse to grin her direction.

"Now you're thinking like a shinobi! Although I'm not fond of the idea of having a chakra-sapping seal anywhere near me in this form, I think that would be a brilliant idea to slip past them," the undead commended her with a grin.

Boruto had to roll his eyes and shake his head before stepping back into the conversation. "Why not just wait until nightfall? The cover of darkness would cover us far better than a few seal charms and an optimistic attitude."

"More patrols and more sensing rather than looking. I can deal with one or two people alerted to our presence, but not whole squads," the corpse pointed out. "And with you three? I'd rather not take that gambit altogether."

"Then daytime it is," Sarada agreed and that was that. The three of them began to clean up their dishes and utensils with hardly a stitch and prepared to head out.

As they were leaving, Mitsuki took out a canteen and took a few small sips of water, not noticing the corpse focused on him until he had finished. It seemed only polite, like Sensei had taught him, to share with the man even if he was a fairly 'bad' person, but then again people still said his father was bad. Uchiha-san had helped them quite a bit so far and hadn't killed them; he was just a shinobi. Sometimes they had to use force to achieve what needed to be done.

The blue-haired boy offered his canteen to the undead. "Here Uchiha-san. Would you like a drink?" he asked politely, gauging the man's troubled expression directed at the canteen. But a hand gently pushed his wrist away.

"Don't bother, Mitsuki," Boruto said grumpily. "He's a corpse. He doesn't need to eat or drink anything." Then the blond slipped his backpack onto his shoulders for the trip ahead of them.

The snake sage held his canteen closer to him, but continued to watch the undead Uchiha who was looking off in another direction, troubled, with a gloved hand over his mouth. "Are you sure you don't need a drink, Uchiha-san?" the genin asked once more, still determined to help if he could.

Obito sat up straighter against the tree trunk and shook his head. "No thanks. I'll live... _figuratively_ ," he answered before trudging forth, beginning a brisk pace through the tree once again, expecting the children to follow.

"What was that all about?" the blond grumbled as the three of them began to follow a few paces after him.

"I don't know, but don't you think Uchiha-san is a little strange for a dead man?" the kunoichi asked. "I mean, I would think he'd act a lot… stiffer?"

"Yeah. Of course I noticed that, but we have no idea what technique we're dealing with or how he was brought back to life. It could be just a side-effect," the Uzumaki boy pointed out.

"Maybe he's not all dead?" Mitsuki suggested. "Maybe he's kind of like me?"

"No, Mitsuki," Sarada corrected. "He's not and I can say for certain that you're not a monster like him."

"Yeah! Don't compare yourself to that," Boruto added.

The snake sage could do nothing but frown. He didn't see it like that at all.

* * *

 **Author's Note: _Sorry guys. I just realized that the kiddos were in Earth so I had to go back and edit Sound Country to Earth Country. But it should be fine now. Konohamaru's on his way to rescue the kiddos too, so what'll happen next? Not even I know! See ya next time!_**


	3. Adventures In Genin-Sitting

As they began to approach the border, the trio began to become more concerned. Obito was acting more strangely than before, constantly turning to check on the three of them. He seemed to be considering something but didn't have the ability to voice it out loud. It was both sobering and startling.

"Uchiha-san," Sarada called for his attention after catching him glancing back at them once more. He seemed to like leading the group. "Is something wrong?" the kunoichi asked.

"Hm?" he hummed, focusing once more on the world around him. "Oh no. It's nothing. Nothing for any of you to worry about anyways," the corpse ended with a grumble before he came to a stop, ceasing their tiny caravan. "Let's take a few minutes to get things in order before we hit Grassland."

The genin began rifling around their things and seating themselves comfortably against the bamboo trees to take a short break after such a long time of jogging through the woods. They were starting to slowly regain much of their chakra back, so soon they wouldn't have to take as long to travel back. They'd be able to race through the treetops once they got out of the bamboo forests that littered this part of the world.

"Everyone settled? Good. I'm going to be back in a bit," Obito announced and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Wait. Where are you going? You're not just going to leave us here," the young Uzumaki asked, frowning at him.

"You're shinobi. You can take care of yourselves for a few minutes," the corpse scoffed, grinning at the three of them, which of course, made the blond scowl at him as per the usual. "I'm going to grab a few things before we continue on, so try not to get yourselves in trouble before I return." A moment later he whirled out of existence back into his pocket dimension.

"Great. Just great!" Boruto grumbled. "Where'd he go now?"

"Is there anything you haven't complained about since we met Obito? Give it a rest, Boruto. We'll see when he gets back," Sarada pointed out and took a drink from her water canister.

The undead chose that moment to show back up, a bundle of clothes on his arm and a set smile on his face. Only this time, his face was partially covered with a pale, snarling oni, leaving only his lower lip and downward visible, giving a glimpse of the scars on his jaw and cheek. It was concealing enough; his eyes weren't visible but for two coin-sized holes for eyes inlaid in bronze orbs and two black horns brushed against the cover of his cloak's hood.

"Did you miss me?" he teased the blond, who haughtily crossed his arms with a huff. "I got some disguises for crossing the border."

"How'd you get these?" Sarada asked as he placed a set of clothes in her arms and another to Mitsuki.

"I stole them," he answered without hesitation. He made an attempt to hand a set to Boruto, but he scoffed and refused, making the Uchiha narrow his eyes. "Take them. I'd rather we not get caught at this point."

"No way!" the blond responded, turning his nose up. "I don't take things from terrorists."

"Look here, kid. You ate the food that I brought so I know you're full of it. And also, I'm dragging you back to the Leaf if I have to bring back your bruised and beaten body. So put on the damn disguise I'm handing you, right now, or you're going to get hurt," the corpse said darkly, his Sharingan eyes activating once again as a threat.

The young Uzumaki snatched it right away and began to dress in the outfit.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," the Uchiha muttered as he averted his eyes to address the entire group. "Make sure you remove your headbands and anything that indicates your clan or village affiliation so we can blend in as tourists."

"Um, Uchiha-san?" Sarada asked pleadingly.

"Yes, Sarada?" the corpse responded with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't think these fit," she pointed out. "The jacket's a bit big on me, the blouse is much too small, and I'm honestly scared to put on the rest of the clothes you chose." The kunoichi pointedly flopped the long sleeves of her jacket and flared out the bottom of it, which covered the tops of her thighs.

Obito looked a bit ruffled and held his chin in the crook of his fingers. "That could be a problem," he murmured, humming thoughtfully.

"Have you never bought clothes before?" Boruto scoffed, smirking at the corpse's blunder. He slipped on the clothes that the Uchiha had brought him and frowned before scowling up at him.

"What's that look for?" the masked man grumbled, settling his hand back at his side, bracing for the incoming insult.

"Are you a pervert or something?" the blond asked with a disgusted grimace.

"What?" the Uchiha asked incredulously. "What makes you say that?"

"Mine and Mitsuki's," the boy pointed to his male teammate, "clothes fit just fine, but Sarada's don't! You have to be some kind of weirdo. You've even been super nice to her so far!"

"How does that even vaguely make me a pervert? The only reason I've been 'nice' is because she's actually polite. Something that you obviously find yourself incapable of being! And it's completely idiotic to think I'd ever do something like this inten-" the Uchiha stopped and switched tactics, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the blond from beneath his mask. "Newsflash, kid, my mother was a seamstress. Not me. Naturally, as a man without any women in my life, I know next to nothing about shopping for women's clothes, so zip it. Save it for when we come across an enemy or something." He turned his nose up at the boy and focused once more on the younger Uchiha.

"Is there any way you can make do with that outfit?" Obito asked the kunoichi softly.

"Probably not, Uchiha-san. I'm swimming in this," she said after she had shucked off the jacket and folded it back up to set on top of the pile.

"I'm sorry," the corpse apologized. "I had no idea how women's sizes worked. I'll try harder if this situation occurs again."

"It's alright, Uchiha-s-"

"Are you sure about that, pervert?" Boruto cut in, throwing the shirt he was given at the corpse's face, hooking it on the mask's leftmost horn. He smirked proudly at his achievement.

The Uchiha snarled angrily and pulled the clothing from his face, grasping it tightly in his gloved hand. "You ungrateful brat!" he seethed, his Sharingan eyes peering at him from behind his mask. "I dare you to look me in the eyes and say that again!"

"Uchiha-san, please. Calm down," the kunoichi tried to get close to put an anchoring hand on his arm, but the corpse slipped away, taking a few steps closer to the blond and away from her grasp.

"Hah! I'd say it again in a heartbeat!" the boy teased, his crystalline blue eyes and his temper blazing just as hotly. "You just aren't worth the effort!"

"Boruto!" Sarada cried, gritting her teeth and shouting at the boy, but both of them took no notice.

"You better feel lucky that I don't kill you now! You're the most obnoxious child I've ever had the misfortune of meeting!" Obito shouted, gnashing his teeth together. Both of their chakra signatures began to flare and flicker in their fury, slowly overtaking the area. They'd get them discovered by a patrol if they weren't careful.

"Good!" the blond screamed up into the Uchiha's face. "I hope I haunt your miserable dreams 'til you die, scum!"

The Uchiha made to reach out and snag the boy with his free hand, murder written plainly in his vermillion eyes and his tense stance. But luckily, Sarada stepped in at that very moment.

"Shannaroooooooooooo!"

Her fist slammed into the blond, knocking him to the ground with the force of her punch into the soft flesh of his stomach before she leaped up and kicked the corpse cleanly in the face. It made the man stumble a few steps back and had the additional effect of knocking the mask from his face to reveal a truly pissed off Uchiha, but his good sense had been restored to him and his Sharingan were no longer an active threat. Boruto was equally as annoyed as he sat up from the ground, holding his stomach, looking ill from the blow.

"Both of you need to knock it off!" the girl cried before composing herself and pushing her glasses back up to sit comfortably on the bridge of her nose. "You two need to start taking this seriously. We have Kara on our tail and who knows what else, so we need to work together, Boruto. As for you, Uchiha-san, you need to control your temper. You're the adult here, so please act like it."

The young Uzumaki painfully groaned and nodded stiffly in response. Obito meanwhile scoffed and nodded while rubbing his offended cheek. It was somewhat surprising to the kunoichi that he was still standing with the power she had put behind that kick or that he had even let her do it in the first place with his Sharingan active, but she wasn't going to complain. At least him and Boruto were no longer at each other's throats.

For now.

"Are we done acting like children?" she asked rhetorically and after receiving no answer from her elder, she gathered up the clothes that Obito had brought for her once again. She took care in picking up the corpse's mask as well, dusting the leaves and dirt off it before offering it to him. "What are we going to do about my disguise?" she asked as Obito tentatively took the mask from her and made to place it back on his face. "I can't go out and advertise that I'm part of the Uchiha clan. We'd be cornered immediately."

"Well," the older Uchiha mused thoughtfully as he adjusted the mask to sit comfortably in place, "do you have an outfit or disguise in mind? I can fetch something, but it'd take a few jumps to get to a shop and even then I can't make an accurate estimate of how long it'll take."

"Yes, and that's fine, Uchiha-san. I could write it down for you," the kunoichi suggested, digging into the kunai pouch on her thigh to remove a small, compact pen. "But… I don't have any paper. Just explosive and sealing tags."

The corpse pouted before slowly yanking off the glove over his right hand. "You can write it here," he suggested. "It'll make it easier on me to not have to keep track of a piece of paper anyhow."

Sarada nodded in agreement and began to jot down her specifications, holding the corpse's pale, inhuman hand steady. It was difficult to write on, as the pen tended to sink into the flesh of it like trying to write on pastry dough, but she managed well enough. "What should I do with the other clothes, Uchiha-san?"

"Whatever you'd like. Ditch them. Keep them," the corpse shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Do you have it finished?" He looked down at his hand from behind the mask as the kunoichi moves away, lifting it closer to his face so he can read the measurements and items needed. The corpse frowned as he watches the words morph into nothingness as his skin absorbs the ink. "I was afraid of this," he muttered, causing the three genin to look up at him curiously.

"What's your problem now?" Boruto grumbled, finally getting to his feet, still clutching his stomach. "Is shopping for women's clothes still too intimidating for you?" The jeering comment earns him a scowl from the corpse and a derisive noise in response.

"Hardly." He flipped his bare, unmarked hand over to show exactly what had irked him. "This side of my body is capable of absorbing chakra and most jutsus, so I didn't know if it could be written on or not. I guess I know now," the corpse chuckled nervously as a result and rubbed the back of his head with his gloved hand. "Oops?"

The young Uzumaki let out a frustrated growl and shoved his fingers into his blond hair. "Why'd we have to get stuck with you? Idiot!"

Obito pouted, jutting out his bottom lip but said nothing in response.

"Can she write on your other hand, Uchiha-san?" Mitsuki chimed in.

Even with the mask present, the oldest of the Uchiha looked troubled and held his gloved hand protectively, speculating on what to do next. "She could, but-"

"But nothin'! Just get it over with already! We all just want to get back to the village, y'know! So stop wasting our time!" the blond snapped at him.

Obito chuckled in mirthless humor and began to remove the glove that covered his other hand, pulling it off carefully and deliberately. "Remember when I asked you to show me yours? This is mine," he said as he revealed his hand to the three genin, and in the middle was a small, diamond-shaped mark.

No one made any move to speak or even to breathe. They now had an answer as to why the corpse was so adamant on heading all the way back to the Leaf with them. Additionally, as to why he had reacted as badly as he had to being kept out of the loop. Obito had a Kama mark and if Boruto's observations were anything to go off of, the Uchiha had only recently received it in this life. Or un-life, but it was still baffling. Is that what that Kara guy meant by calling him 'the weapon'?

"Wh-Where'd you get that, Uchiha-san?" Sarada asked him, unable to take her eyes off of his palm.

"I'd tell you now if I knew, but this is exactly why I need to get back to the Leaf and see Kakashi," he paused for a moment before he muttered, "that and the council members."

"You're not killing the council members," the kunoichi responded with a deep frown.

The corpse shrugged carelessly. "It's not like they don't have it coming. Besides, if I do it quietly, no one will ever know."

"We'll know," the blond boy pointed out from the man's other side.

"Good point, but how will you tell anyone if you're dead?" the corpse's voice was low and threatening, challenging the genin to say anything further.

"I'll tell Lord Sixth," Sarada stated, her eyes burning into him and drawing his attention back to her. Her gaze was just as menacing as his with that statement.

The corpse hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose that's fair enough," he responded, straightening up. "Did you want to rewrite your list, Sarada-chan?"

Boruto scowled at the nickname he used for her and grit his teeth, an insult burning on the tip of his tongue, but Sarada's gaze was on him immediately as though sensing his inclination to spit venom at Obito once again. She mouthed the word 'don't' at him, so he let it go, but that didn't mean he couldn't squint up angrily at the man. The kunoichi turned her attention back to her older kin and proceeded to rewrite the list as Boruto plot of some other way to inconvenience or infuriate the mischievous undead.

"So, Uchiha-san…" Boruto started, leaning against a bamboo tree carelessly, no longer holding his stomach in pain, "why are you so concerned about Gramps, I mean Kakashi? He your best friend or crush or something?" He waited patiently for the corpse to take the bait, watching as his lips formed a tight, troubled line.

"Nothing like that. He's a former teammate from my genin days," the corpse grumbled in response as Sarada finished hastily writing the last line. The list was careful and neatly written with a few notes off to the side and Obito left his palm open to let the text dry.

"It still sounds pretty gay to me," the blond huffed, making the man turn to his left to glare at him. The boy smirked at his good fortune of finding one of Obito's button. He was easy to upset and apparently, he had found one of his weak spots.

Obito pointed accusingly at the blond-haired genin, his eyes still dark behind his mask, "Now you listen here you little pipsqueak-"

"Pipsqueak?" Boruto squawked, scandalized.

"Yeah, I said pipsqueak!" the older Uchiha snapped at him. "This is the only time I'm going to warn you about this and once should be more than enough, you got it? If you even think of saying that again, I'll throw you into Kamui and leave you there, starving and alone until this… this journey is over," the corpse grit out, his teeth gnashing together angrily. His voice was steady and dark, his body tense and coiled to spring to do just as he promised. "I mean it. I won't feel guilty in the sli-"

"Obito…" the kunoichi reprimanded, stirring him and making him jolt as if in surprise.

The corpse cleared his throat before carrying on more calmly. "Look… I got one person left - that doesn't completely hate me - on this miserable planet and I'll be damned if he dies before I get back to the village so I can die first! So I'd really appreciate you three not citing any more trouble or getting on my case before then. I don't like this situation any more than you do, and as soon as I get to talk to Kakashi, I'll disappear and be out of your hair forever. No more big, bad Uchiha to follow you around with death threats, alright? Fair enough?"

None of the genin seemed inclined to respond, but Mitsuki briefly nodded in understanding.

"Are we finally on the same page?" the Uchiha asked instead. Boruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away, but it was as much of an answer as Obito was going to get. He accepted it as a positive response. "Good. I'm going to head back and get those disguises. Don't do anything stupid until I get back," he mumbled.

"How can we," Boruto muttered, "when you're taking all the 'stupid' with you?" Obito chuckled in amusement at him and whirled out of existence.

"Obviously, not," Sarada input once the man was long gone, narrowing her eyes at the blond and fixing her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose.

"What? What did I do now? Sarada… he's the one who-!"

"Just give it a rest, Boruto! Leave him alone. He's at least trying to act decent," the kunoichi pointed out, frowning at the boy. Despite himself, however, he couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes as he knew she was right. "Why do you have to keep making him mad at us?"

"I don't know. I just… don't like him," the boy replied.

"Then at least pretend to. I don't want to end up dead, which is exactly what will happen if you keep jumping on him about everything he does," she responded forcing the boy to look guiltily down at his feet and bringing a tense silence down on the three of them.

Mitsuki looked between the two, aware at least that the silence wasn't a very good sign between comrades. "I have a question," the small, snake sage said to break the mood. "What is a seamstress?"

The two brooding genin looked at each other baffled before glancing his way, Sarada with a raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know what a seamstress is?" Boruto asked, rather appalled.

"I wouldn't have asked for the clarification if I knew."

"It's a person that makes clothes," Sarada answered.

"I see. So Uchiha-san was being sarcastic?"

"It certainly seems that way."

As the two were engaged in conversation, Boruto finally decided to change into the disguise that Obito had brought, shucking off his shirt heedless of his company. He wasn't expressly pleased, but at least it wouldn't give the two Uchiha reason to be cross with him.

Sarada noticed him with a blush and turned her back on him to look at Mitsuki who had been fully dressed in his disguise from the beginning. He wore a sky-blue jacket, only a few shades darker than his hair, dark blue pants, and a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses, the latter of which made his serpent-like eyes all the more human.

"Your disguise looks great, Mitsuki," the kunoichi complimented with a warm smile.

"You think so?" he asked, adjusting the sunglasses.

"Mhm!"

"Yeah, but what do you think of mine?" Boruto asked behind them, making a pose to show off his own outfit. It was a pale gray blazer over a peach dress shirt and wash-out jeans fastened up with a slender white belt. He looked modern and fashionable in his disguise although his defining whiskers and sunny, yellow hair still gave him away. The young Uzumaki looked every bit of the arrogant and handsome boy that he pictured himself to be in his mind and it made them wonder further if Obito had that pictured it himself when he had snatched the outfits for them. It didn't make much of a difference, but there seemed to be a theme the older Uchiha wanted to go for.

"It looks pretty good, Boruto," Sarada said with a nod.

"What do you think, Mitsuki?" the blond asked the other boy as he smirked, preening and lavishing in the attention and praise.

"Yes. You look very handsome," the other boy agreed, offering a whole-hearted smile that ran up to his eyes.

Boruto froze in an instant and pouted at the pale boy. "You can't just say something like that to another guy. It's weird."

Mitsuki frowned and tilted his head. "Why not? It was meant as a compliment. I thought that's what I was meant to do?"

"Well, yeah, but that's-"

"I think he's pretty handsome-looking too, Mitsuki. It suits him," Sarada cut in and Mitsuki nodded along.

Boruto made a petulant face at them, but eventually sent it changed into a toothy grin as he ran his fingers through the back of his hair. "I guess you're right. I am pretty handsome," he purred. Sarada rolled her eyes while Mitsuki hummed contentedly.

"I wonder what's taking that guy so long," Boruto mused after a while, lying on the ground, his head propped up by his arms as he lay against one of the bamboo trees.

"Do you… think he's lost?" Mitsuki asked curiously, sitting cross-legged on the ground beside him.

"Doubtful," Sarada replied instead. "His ability lets him teleport to just about anywhere, and I don't think Uchiha-san would leave us by ourselves if he didn't think he could get back."

Boruto scoffed. It was always about Uchiha-san.

"So what? Maybe he abandoned us? It doesn't matter to me if he's gone," Boruto grumbled, a sneer screwing up his features. "All I can say is 'good riddance'!"

Sarada shot him an unimpressed look before adjusting her glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. Her chakra flared slightly in her annoyance and she looked to be coming up with a biting remark.

"You shouldn't say things like that," Mitsuki scolded before Sarada could respond.

"Hm? Mitsuki?" Boruto murmured, baffled. The snake sage didn't usually reprimand the blond. "Why not?"

"It's bad karma, as they say. If Uchiha-san truly abandoned us, I would think it would be due to being apprehended by Kara. Which, would turn out badly for the three of us," he answered the blond's question without a moment's thought.

Boruto was quickly hushed as he sat in grim silence to ponder his teammate's response. Mitsuki was always good at thinking in the long-run, while Boruto's strong-suit was planning in the moment, so he didn't dispute him. Everything he said was likely true. From shortly after they met, Obito seemed determined to get them back to the Hidden Leaf and wouldn't have much reason to abandon that mission now, especially after revealing his own Kama mark to the trio.

It was beginning to occur to Boruto that maybe - just maybe - Obito wasn't evil, per se. He had morals and things he wanted to accomplish, but he wasn't good, not like his father or Gramps or Sensei. Boruto still didn't like him; Obito could easily become their enemy after all, or an enemy of Konoha. In fact, he likely still is an enemy of the Leaf with what they knew of him. He had to stay alert, especially for his team. He swore to protect them and he meant it no matter who the enemy was.

Just as conveniently, Obito whirled back into existence in the same spot he had disappeared in. His collar and the front of his cloak were drenched and his shoulders slumped in what could be perceived as exhaustion.

"What the hell happened to you?" Boruto sneered as he gave the man a cursory glance.

"Don't ask," Obito grumbled and trudged over to Sarada, shoving a shiny, boutique bag towards her. "Here, everything you asked for should be in here," he said as the kunoichi cautiously took the bag and peered inside.

"Why's it in a gift bag this time?" she asked, taking a mental log of everything inside.

"It would have been difficult to follow through with the specifics by choosing a random target, so I went to a shop and bought them," the corpse answered before pulling his attention away to look over his damp cloak in distaste.

Sarada whipped her head back up in surprise. "Th-Thank you, Uchiha-san," she stuttered out. "I'll just… go and change into this real quick."

Obito was still focused on his cloak and the shirt beneath but waved her away, "Yeah yeah, don't worry about it. Just don't run off too far."

Sarada nodded before hiking into the forest to find a secluded spot to change.

"Should we… send someone with her?" Mitsuki asked, tilting his head curiously as he watched his teammate amble off.

"Hm? She'll be fine," Obito mumbled before letting out a disgruntled sigh and releasing the lapels of his cloak. He set his unnatural gaze on the snake-like genin looking over his outfit before turning and doing the same to the blond, scowling at the result.

"What's that face for? Got a problem with me, old man?" Boruto growled peevishly with his arms folded over his chest, pouting and turning his nose up.

"I do have a problem, because I could have sworn that there's more to your outfit that I specifically recall handing you that you seem to not be wearing," Obito grit out, narrowing his gaze on the blond.

"I am not wearing makeup! It's for girls!" Boruto exclaimed his outrage, his hands waved out at his side to emphasize his point. "And I am definitely not a girl, so don't even ask that, you pervert!" He pointed viciously at the Uchiha.

"I don't care what gender you are, but like hell you're not wearing the rest of your disguise," Obito scoffed before gesturing to the whisker-like marks on the sides of Boruto's face. "How do you expect to conceal those, hm? Are you going to magic them away? They practically scream 'Hello, I'm related to Naruto Uzumaki! Please capture me for some nefarious purpose or arrest me for abandoning my village!'" The phrase was sneered mockingly in a high-pitched tone to 'mimic' Boruto before he continued in his own voice, "They're a beacon that'll tell everyone exactly who we are - or at least, who you three are. I wouldn't have thought you were that stupid, but you seem to be deadset on proving me wrong."

"I'm not stupid. And we didn't abandon the village! I already told you that yesterday or is your big, dumb, rotting corpse-brain that forgetful?" Boruto snapped back at him.

"I've about had it up to here with your bullshit," Obito growled, raising his hand to Boruto's height. "And I'm 'this' close to being completely fed up with you, so you're going to put on that wig and glue those clan marks on or so help me, I'll put them on myself!"

"Fine! Then you put them on because I'm not wearing them! Maybe it'll be an improvement on your ugly face!"

"Boruto-kun?" Mitsuki murmured, getting both of the others' attention.

"What is it, Mitsuki?" Boruto snarled as his anger continued to simmer.

Mitsuki blinked at him, tilting his head at the unusual amount of hostility toward him before he began. "I think you should get it over with and put on the rest of your disguise," he suggested. "I'd rather not get into any more trouble if I can help it and I'm sure Sarada wouldn't eith-"

"Screw both of you then!" the blond shouted, cutting him off. "This guy's just trying to embarrass me because he's a pervert, so why are you siding with him?" Boruto snapped. "Also, he smells like dirt!"

"That's pretty rude. I smell perfectly fine," Obito cut in, feigning hurt.

"Just shut up! I don't care about your feelings! You're a terrorist!" Boruto yelled at the Uchiha, pointing at him furiously before whipping his attention back on his teammate. "Why do you and Sarada keep defending him? It doesn't matter if we're nice to him or not because he could be trying to lead us to our deaths anyway. Ever consider that? Or… Or maybe he's just planning on using us for something? Maybe he's still a part of Kara! The truth is that we don't know and we shouldn't be nice to him just because he's playing at being nice to us!"

"That's a valid point," Obito remarked, "but don't you think you should save the moral dilemma for when you're not standing right next to me?"

"Can you just stop talking? I don't like you and I don't trust you and I'm not putting on the stupid makeup!" Boruto shouted once more to reiterate his disgust. He was practically shaking with absolute rage and it set an uncomfortable silence over the clearing. Obito rolled his eyes behind his mask and seized the opportunity to wander away from the genin he was plagued by.

"I've considered that," Mitsuki answered hushedly. "But we've discussed before that it would be best to keep him near us; you were the one that suggested that and he hasn't killed us yet."

"Yeah, I remember, but that doesn't mean-"

"I don't like the things that he's done either, but Uchiha-san is a shinobi like us and like all of our opponents before him," Mitsuki pointed out, wise beyond his years. "Even if we don't trust him, we should seize the opportunity to keep him on our side, even if we don't see eye to eye. He's not evil, Boruto."

"I know that he's not evil, but he's still-"

"He's still what? You told me that I'm not defined by my past, or is that something you said without weight? How do the two of us differ?" Boruto clamped his mouth shut and turned away from his teammate, his blue eyes clouded in thought as he demanded his mind to come up with an appropriate answer.

There were plenty of things that made them different, but nothing that Mitsuki would likely accept. He was his friend after all, but then, there were too many similarities to pinpoint anything to dislike about the Uchiha in particular.

Obito was a missing-nin, but the three of them were also technically missing-nin, along with the rest of their friends who had followed them here. He was also a murderer, but then again, so were most shinobi, including himself as proved by the Kama mark. The last thing he could suggest was that Obito was a terrorist, but then, the world had since grown greatly after the scars he left on it, so was he really that bad? Yes and no. Boruto couldn't dispute any other reasons except maybe that Obito had tried to kill them twice, but then… if he had wanted to kill them, with what they'd seen of his abilities, it wouldn't exactly be hard to do.

Boruto was stricken utterly speechless.

"Are you two finally done with your little chat?" Obito asked, having gotten in Boruto's personal space sometime between the moment he had ambled away to that moment.

The blond shrieked in surprise and tried to take a step back, but Obito grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to him. "Oh no, you don't! It's time you put it on."

"No way! I'm not wearing it! It's ugly and it'll ruin my style, y'know!" Boruto struggled to get away. An idea crossed his mind and he made to put his hands together to start making the seals for a replacement jutsu. Unfortunately for him, Obito caught on immediately and slid his hand over Boruto's, locking it in place and making the blond wince as their fingers interlocked painfully.

Both of them paused for a moment before meeting each other's surprised, cringeworthy expressions - Boruto's shocked and horrified, while Obito's was more annoyed than ever.

"You pervert! I'm not gonna hold your hand, you gay old man!" The blond shouted at the top of his lungs, twisting and kicking furiously. He stomped down as hard as he could on Obito's unprepared foot, making a sickening crunch of breaking bones.

"Can you not? That hurt, pipsqueak!" Obito hissed, maintaining a firm grasp on Boruto's hand.

"Pipsqueak?" Boruto cried indignantly. "I'm not a pipsqueak so stop calling me that! I'm normal-sized!"

"But you're abnormally bratty," Obito commented before placing a dark-brown wig on the boy's head. "There! It looks fantastic."

"It looks like it belongs in the garbage," Boruto growled as he made to take it off, only to get his hand slapped away. "Ow! What's your problem, huh?"

"A lot of things, but right now, most of them can be attributed to you heaping them on me. Now stay still," Obito answered, grumbling before crouching down in front of Boruto and popping a tube of cosmetic adhesive from somewhere. "Now lean your head down and hold still while I put this on," he muttered as he unscrewed the cap and began brushing the contents on the boy's cheeks.

After he was satisfied with that, he released Boruto's entrapped hand and revealed a packet with two rectangular, violet pieces of synthetic skin. Obito carefully opened it and one at a time, he glued them over Boruto's birthmarks.

"What are those?" Boruto asked, more curious than upset.

"They're supposed to imitate clan marks," Obito answered, flattening the material and checking it for bubbles.

"Which clan?" Boruto was quickly growing more intrigued.

"The-" Obito hesitated for a moment, flitting his unnerving eyes up to Boruto's clear, innocuous ones, his expression mainly hidden by the intimidating snarl of the mask. "They're the marks of the Nohara clan, distinguished by this particular shade of purple and that the marks are kinda rectangular-ie?" He turned to Mitsuki, "Is that a word? Rectangular-ie?"

"I don't believe so, Uchiha-san," Mitsuki answered, watching in amusement as Boruto went through his transformation.

Purple rectangles? That seemed a bit familiar, kind of like 'Sukea', but that would make the Nohara clan from Fire Country, wouldn't it?

"How's being a part of that clan going to help me blend in?" Boruto asked, his shoulders slumping as Obito slowly placed the second mark on the genin.

"The Nohara clan is spread throughout Fire, Grassland, and Swamp country," Obito replied, then with a shrug, "but mostly Swamp. There aren't very many left though and not all of them are a part of a ninja village. Some of them are pretty well-traveled too."

"That makes sense," the blond mused quietly. His curiosity was satisfied for the most part. Perhaps one of Gramps' and the pervert's friends was part of the Nohara clan? What was her name? Rin?

"What makes sense?"

Boruto couldn't tell him that he suspected that, especially if it was something he could use for later, so he replied with, "That you'd dress me up as a vagabond."

"That's funny because I've never seen a vagabond dressed like a spoilt brat before," Obito scoffed and stood back up at his full height before taking a step back to take in his work. He nodded in satisfaction before taking a glance over to where Sarada was walking back through the trees in her new outfit with trepidation. It was pretty obvious that she must have heard the yelling, but she was relieved to find out that nothing incredibly violent had taken place and that all three of her companions were still alive (more or less).

"What happened while I was away?" Sarada demanded with a longsuffering sigh, placing a hand on her hip and glaring expectantly between the three of them.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just guys being… guys?" Obito coolly answered, hesitating only briefly to come up with a word to finish the phrase.

Sarada's stony gaze clearly showed to the three of them that she didn't believe a single word, or at least not the implications Obito was giving her. The usual? Yes. Being civilized and non-hostile to each other? No.

"What really happened," Sarada asked without moving her fixed stare from the two troublemakers, "Mitsuki?"

"Uchiha-san and Boruto had an argument, which at some point included a discussion with me. Then they fought as Uchiha-san put makeup on him," Mitsuki answered truthfully.

"I thought we were past this?" Obito murmured, causing Boruto to roll his eyes beside him.

"Yes, but I cannot lie to my friends," Mitsuki said. Obito must've found that to be an amusing answer because he hummed in thoughtful agreement.

"Ah, but it wasn't all bad!" Obito chirped after a moment's silence. He grasped Boruto's shoulders and pulled him in front of him as the genin flailed angrily. "Just take a look at this! Isn't he adorable?"

Boruto's cheeks flushed hotly in embarrassment. "Why don't you find the ditch you crawled out of and bury yourself in it," he muttered under his breath, low enough that no one would be able to hear it without straining their ears.

He was surprised when Obito responded just as quietly, "Don't you think I would if I could, pipsqueak?"

Boruto gnashed his teeth together before slapping the Uchiha's hands off him and scrambling away. "Damn you! You think you're funny, don't you?" the boy snapped, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction. "But you're not! You're just a dead asshole!"

"Boruto!" Sarada reprimanded.

"On the contrary, I'm hilarious and you're a snot-nosed brat that can't keep his tongue in check!" Obito returned just as heatedly.

"Uchiha-san!" Sarada shouted, only to be ignored by both parties yet again.

"Hilarious? An English professor who speaks only in monotone is funnier than you! The only thing funny about you is how ugly you are!" Boruto barked at the Uchiha.

"At least I'm not as bad at coming up with insults as you are, pipsqueak!" Obito scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his nose up haughtily.

As Boruto took a breath to send another retort his way, Sarada shoved her way between the two of them. "Can you either of you stop fighting for more than five minutes?" she scolded the pair of them, a hand held up to keep Boruto from getting any closer to the Uchiha.

"Hey! He was the one to start this!" Boruto said, trying to appeal to her offendedly.

"I don't care who started it; I'm ending this now!" Sarada said authoritatively. "You two are going to make up and you're going to stop fighting like children!"

"I did nothing wrong," Obito said without sparing them a glance.

"Sure you didn't," Boruto grumbled sarcastically, scowling at him.

"However," the corpse continued before unfolding himself and setting his attention on the two of them, "if it'll make Sarada-chan happy and keep you from pestering me with your ridiculous complaints, well... I guess I can comply." He held out his hand in an amicable gesture, prompting Sarada to give the two of them space.

Boruto glanced between the offending, gloved hand and the one it was attached to. It was the left hand - the one with the Kama mark, which was likely to discourage Boruto from rebelling - but regardless of what Sarada wanted, he wasn't eager to take it. Obito smirked down at him, curling his lip in a way that read as both mistrusting and distasteful, mirroring Boruto's same sentiments. At least they agreed on something, but he wasn't exactly satisfied with the situation.

After several moments of hesitation, Obito prodded, "Is there a problem, Uzumaki-kun?" Boruto hated the way he said his surname as though he was mocking him. Hell, he was definitely mocking him.

He pouted in response before grinning up at the Uchiha. "I guess not. You know, I feel like we'll get along pretty well after this, y'know?" Boruto said.

"I'm sure," Obito responded in turn.

Boruto raised his hand to meet Obito's, but as their hands made to grasp one another's the genin feigned and sent a fist hurtling into Obito's stomach. He didn't go through him, nor did Obito avoid it. Instead, a hot wave of pressurized air sent the Uchiha flying backward into the tree, smashing through several bamboo stalks until he slammed bodily into a thick boulder, ending his path of destruction. The genin's eyes widened in surprise as he realized what had just happened, catching the receding, glimmering blue of his Kama mark fading into his skin. Just when he thought he was starting to get control of it, Boruto was proven entirely wrong.

"Boruto! What did I just tell you?" Sarada reprimanded, frowning at him before gazing down the path at the Uchiha who lay slumped against the rock.

"Do you think he's alright?" Mitsuki asked the pair curiously.

"Tch… he's already dead; he can't die again. Besides, he could have dodged that if he wanted to, but he didn't!" Boruto pointed out.

"That's a good point, but I'm pretty sure he won't agree with that logic," Sarada murmured and cautiously began to stalk down the path over the fallen bamboo. "We should check on him."

Mitsuki nodded and followed behind her immediately.

"But he's already dead. He'll be fine," Boruto reiterated, rolling his eyes.

Sarada sighed. "Fine. You just stay put then. We'll be back in a few minutes," she said before picking her way over to Obito with Mitsuki close behind.

Boruto snorted and leaned on a stalk of bamboo to wait for them to return. This entire venture was getting far too out of hand. If only they'd been able to stay with the rest of the Hidden Leaf rookies, they'd be fine. Just what was Kara's deal?


End file.
